First-Half Fairfield Goal Spoils Strong Yale Effort

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - For most of Saturday's game with Fairfield, Yale controlled possession and had the better of the play. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Stags made the most of one of their few scoring opportunities. Sam Bailey scored the only goal of the game in the 33rd minute and Fairfield held on for a 1-0 victory before an enthusiastic crowd of 1,088 at Lessing Field.

"This was our best performance of the season," said Yale head coach Brian Tompkins. "We've made a lot of progress since last weekend. We defended well and created some scoring opportunities."

The only goal came when Bailey redirected a Matthew Uy cross into the left corner of the net at 32:30.

"The difference in the game was that they finished one of their chances, and we couldn't capitalize on our chances," Tompkins said. "We played considerably better than we did last week."

Yale (0-3) started strong and had a good opportunity less than two minutes in, but Jon Paul Francini made a diving save on Eric Meyer's shot from a tough angle on the left wing.

Meyer appeared to score midway through the first half, but the play was ruled offside.

The Bulldogs also had a great chance late in the first half. Brad Rose was alone in front, but Francini made a terrific save when Rose one-timed a cross.

Both teams had nine shots in the game, but Yale held a 4-2 advantage in the second half.

Francini finished with three saves for the Stags, while Erik Geiger stopped two shots for Yale.

The Bulldogs will compete in the Dartmouth Invitational next weekend. Yale plays St. Francis, Pa., on Friday and then takes on UW-Milwaukee on Sunday.

"I'm pleased with our progress, but disappointed with the loss," Tompkins said. "I still believe we are a good team."